


Red Eye, Code Blue

by JessJesstheBest



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aromantic, Aromantic Character, Aspec fest 2019, Gen, I'm not kidding it's really fucking anti Stony, POV!Steve, Trope Reversal, aro!Tony Stark, cw: arophobia, so please be aware of that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-26 23:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21108590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessJesstheBest/pseuds/JessJesstheBest
Summary: Tony leaned away “Whoa. What the fuck?”Steve blinked. “What?”“Did you just try to kiss me?”Or Tony and Steve get trapped in an elevator and Tony tells Steve how he really feels.





	Red Eye, Code Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Aspec Fest 2019.  
My only parameters for this fic before I started writing was "Steve gets dunked on"

Things had never been  _ easy _ between Steve and Tony. They were pitted against each other from the get-go: the soldier and the guy who couldn’t stop railing against the military. Steve, at one point, had also been the guy who railed against the military but he felt like he had the right, actually serving in it, after all.

They didn’t keep that from letting them work together. They bickered and battled bad guys. They took cheap shots at each other and incapacitating shots at their enemies. They got along best when they were fighting someone else.

But that had been before the Accords.

  
  


Steve remembered being back in that room in Bucharest. One of Howard’s fancy pens in his hand, the accords stacked on the table both a threat and a lifeline.

_ “I'm not saying it's impossible, _ ” He’d said _ “but there would have to be safeguards.” _

Tony had all but leapt at that. A light in his eyes that made Steve feel like maybe he was making the right call.

_ “Sure! Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated–” _

_ “Wanda? What about Wanda?” _

And they’d fought again. Tony was keeping a kid prisoner and he didn’t think Steve would have a problem with it.

_ “She’s a kid! _ ”

_ “Give me a break!” _ Tony had yelled.  _ “I'm doing what has to be done . . . to stave off something worse.” _

Steve had clenched his jaw, looking from Tony to the expensive fountain pen in his hand.

_ “You keep telling yourself that.” _

He’d put the pen down on the table, the clack of the metal on the wood loud as a gunshot in the tension of the room.

He went to turn around but something stopped him.  _ To stave off something worse… _

He turned back around.  _ “Tony, I have to tell you something. _ ”

And he’d told Tony about his parents. About what really happened on that dark and snowy road in 1991.

Tony didn’t take it well, gasps of ‘no’ escaping him, leaning against the conference table for support as Steve told his story. His face had collapsed in shock and grief and then in hurt and rage. By the time Steve had finished, Tony tried pushing past Steve out of the conference room. Steve had had to grab onto him to keep him.

_ “He’s downstairs! The guy who killed my mom is downstairs. I need to– I have to– _ ” Tony all but sobbed, trying to push himself out of the hold Steve had taken him in. 

Steve was a super soldier. He could keep Tony contained until he had time to calm down.

After a couple moments of weak straining, Tony slumped in Steve’s arms. Steve ran a hand over his back, attempting to comfort, but Tony pushed against him, a silent plea for release.

Steve had let him go and he’d collapsed into a chair, his head in his hands.

_ “Get out _ .” Tony had said.

Steve had just looked at him. 

_ “How long have you known and you didn’t tell me?” _ Tony had asked. Steve’s face had gone a bit strained and Tony had shaken his head.  _ “I can’t look at you right now. We can stay at this compound as long as it takes to get these accords signed but I can’t worry about that right now. I need–” _ He’d swallowed.  _ “Get out. _ ”

So Steve had gotten out. He’d gone back to the conference room Sam was being housed in and shook his head when he’s asked what was wrong. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it.

In the end, Steve was glad he’d said it. Bucky had been reprogrammed, they’d had to break out of the building, Steve had to pull down a helicopter with his bare hands.

They’d fought at the airport – Tony maybe fighting more aggressively than he normally would have, but he hadn’t been fighting to kill. 

And when Zemo had played them that video, after they’d escaped to Siberia, Tony knew what it would be. He’d looked away. Steve had been glad for it.

_ “I knew that already,” _ Tony had growled through gritted teeth.  _ “I know what he’s done. You can’t distract me. _ ”

And they’d brought Zemo in. And on the flight back to the States, Tony slapped down the accords, throwing a Bic ballpoint pen at his chest.

_ “Sign. _ ” He’d spat.

And Steve had signed.

And Steve was happy he’d at least staved off something worse.

  
  
  


It had not been as easy as Steve signing and they were off the hook. The other Avengers who’d fought with Steve had still been on the raft, and Bucky was still a security risk. But with Steve now backing the Accords and with Tony willing to fight for the defecting Avengers, those things had been handled. Messily and tirelessly but handled. As Tony kept reminding everyone, “We have bigger threats, people, come on.”

Things hadn’t been easy to start with, so of course, now that things were worse, they had to get trapped in an elevator together on their way out of the police station.

Being trapped with Tony Stark, it was hard to remember those bigger threats. Especially when Tony kept sneering at him.

“You’re a mechanic,” Steve groaned. “Can’t you fix it?”

Tony threw a glare at him, fingers already working to pry open the control panel. “I have multiple PhDs in quantum mechanics, electrical and mechanical engineering, and physics. You can’t just call me a mechanic.”

“You call yourself a mechanic! I’ve heard you do it!”

“Yes: to kids and Rhodey who I just want to see me as a normal guy.  _ You _ do not get that privilege. To you, I am not a normal guy. I am your god.”

Steve snorted, crossing his arms and leaning dramatically against the wall of the elevator.

They’d come down to the police station to work on getting Avengers clearances for one of their Thanos contingency plans. There was a lot they still didn’t know and even more that they could do nothing about but Tony had started working on systems of evacuation and defense that he needed a lot of tech and a  _ lot _ of crossing international borders for.

Steve had gone with him so they could put up a united front. The Avengers were Back and ready to Take Down Evil and Need Your Support so Please Do What We Say.

It was still a slow process; this was their third time coming to the police building that month. Tony had made an innocuous comment about the shitty elevator last visit.

And, you know, Murphy’s Law.

Tony swore, shaking out his hand. It looked like his nail had bent back.

“Don’t you have any of your fancy gadgets that could break that open?”

Tony turned another heated glare on him. “I checked all Iron Man tech at the door in an effort of good will.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t sneak anything in? It’s not like they would know.”

Tony opened his mouth before closing it and taking a deep breath through his nose.

“Good. Will.” He ground out, through gritted teeth. “I’m a man of my word. Trying to be  _ honorable _ , here.”

Steve’s head jerked back. Sounded to him like Tony was implying he, Steve,  _ wasn’t _ honorable. Which was complete horse-shit.

But before Steve could snipe back, Tony stood up, gesturing to the panel. “It’s not like you had to check your super strength at the door so could you give me a hand, here?”

Steve scowled, but crouched by the control panel. He felt along the edges, finding a weak spot, and dug in his finger to pry it open.

He bent the metal. That was going to be harder to put back.

Tony seemed to agree because he took another hard breath through his nose.

“Whatever. Fine. If they didn’t want their control panel fucked with, they shouldn’t have such a shitty elevator.”

He pushed Steve out of the way to have better access to the circuit board and Steve felt the touch like a brand. 

Tony was always so full of passion and fury. So was Steve. It’s why they butted heads so much. But sometimes, Steve thought there might be something else to the passion and fury.

Steve stood back up to watch Tony work, leaning against the opposing wall of the elevator. Tony was glaring at the circuits through a hologram projecting on his phone. He tapped at some of the scrolling numbers and reached around the light to tweak a wire here and there.

“Thought you said you didn’t bring tech in.”

Tony growled deep in his throat. “No  _ weapons _ . Nothing that could have helped me force the panel open. Shut up, I’m working.”

Steve turned his head to hide a smirk.

Tony did something then did something else and then a bunch of numbers and letters started scrolling very fast and Tony stood up, joining Steve against the elevator wall with a groan.

“Give up?” Steve asked.

Tony closed his eyes. “Friday’s running a couple diagnostics and trying to access the motor controls for the building. Fuck you.”

Steve smirked fully now. He slid along the wall so he could nudge Tony with his shoulder.

“Letting your robot do the work?”

Tony’s eyes were still closed. He let out a pained sigh. “She’s not a robot which you know because I’ve told you that at least 300 times. But, yes, Rogers, we do let robots do our work for us. That is literally why they were invented.”

Tony didn’t move away from Steve’s shoulder.

Before what the news cycle called the “Civil War”, this kind of thing had happened all the time. Steve would make sarcastic comments about Tony’s reliance on technology and Tony would take shots at Steve for being old and stuck in his ways. It had been friendly. Schoolyard shenanigans. Maybe a little pigtail pulling.

It hadn’t been as friendly lately but Tony’s shoulder still pressed to Steve’s bicep gave him a little bit of hope.

“Nothing wrong with a little bit of elbow grease, Tones. Rolling up your sleeves and doing the work yourself. That’s what your dad used to do.”

Tony’s eyes shot open, the comment about his dad the trigger pulled.

“All right, dick. You can stop pretending like you knew my father. You knew him for, what, a year in his 20s? I knew him how he actually was. He started all of the robot shit. If he could have built a robot to raise me instead of doing it himself he would have. So you can take your whole ‘what your father would have done’ bullshit and shove it because you didn’t know him. You  _ barely  _ know me or my work. So keep your goddamn holier-than-thou anti-technology commentary to yourself. In fact,” Tony’s voice became low and dangerous. “I’d prefer if you stopped talking altogether.”

When Tony looked at him, Steve saw fire. There was a cruel tilt to his mouth and a challenge in his eyes.

Steve leaned in.

Tony leaned away “Whoa. What the fuck?”

Steve blinked. “What?”

“Did you just try to kiss me?” The incredulousness in Tony’s face made Steve take one physical and several mental steps back.

“What?”

Tony leaned his own body back as if trying to take in Steve in the context of what had almost just happened. “Did you go in for a kiss just now? Really?”

Steve shrugged, putting on an effective air of nonchalance. “Wasn’t that where we were going?” He puts on a smirk with only half the confidence he’d felt when he leaned in the first place. “That’s how this usually goes, right? All the fighting and pigtail pulling and now we’re stuck in an elevator together?” He shrugged again. “I’ve seen the movies.”

Tony bleated a laugh, an unattractive sound. Steve’s not sure he’s ever heard Tony laugh so unrestrainedly before.

Tony put his hands on his forehead, pushing his hair back. “Oh my God, there is so much wrong with so much of what you just said. Starting with you saying you’ve ‘seen movies’.”

Steve scoffed, crossing his arms. “I’ve definitely seen movies. Nat’s been showing me.”

Tony waved him off, not bothering to entertain that line of conversation.

“That isn’t this, pal. We’re not that. I genuinely don’t like you.”

Steve rolled his eyes, slumping back against the wall again. This time Tony did move away.

“Yeah, okay,” Steve started. “Fury always said we fight like an old married couple.”

Tony shook his head. “No. Not that. Not even a little bit.” He took a deep breath and moved to stand in front of Steve, putting his hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye. “Rogers. Steve. I need you to hear me when I say this. Are you listening?”

Steve nodded, his eyes jumping back to Tony’s mouth.

Tony smacked him weakly upside the head. “No. None of that. Look at my eyes, I need you to listen to me.”

Steve looked at Tony’s eyes. He couldn’t help but feel like this was a little romantic.

Until Tony, looking him in the eye, said, “I don’t like you. You’re mean to me, and not in a fun way. I’m working with you literally under threat of Thanos killing off half of the universe. I would not choose to be in your company if not for that.” He let go of Steve and took a step back. “You’re a bitch.”

And then he moved away, turning back to the control panel.

Steve just watched him, completely speechless, as a bunch of beeps and other mechanical sounds came from Tony’s devices. It took until Tony had worked out the problem with the elevator shuddering back into motion for Steve to ask, “What?”

Tony shrugged, closing the panel as much as he could with the dented door. “I thought we were on the same page here. I mean you _ did  _ completely betray me and leave me to go and defend your buddy who killed my parents. And that was  _ after _ he tried to shoot me in the face.”

“He was  _ brainwashed _ ,” Steve started heatedly.

But Tony cut him off. “Yeah, and I’m using B.A.R.F. to help fix him, but getting you to let me in on that was like pulling teeth. If it had been up to you, he’d be frozen in Wakanda or something.”

Steve tried to open his mouth to defend himself again but Tony wasn’t hearing it.

“So I thought you’d made it clear to  _ me _ that we weren’t friends. Why the fuck would we be anything else?”

Their elevator arrived at the ground floor and Tony was back to being all smiley once the doors opened. He charmed and schmoozed the people on the desk, apologizing for the door to the control panel and  _ ‘I’d be happy to do a full mechanical upgrade on the building. No, really! How can we expect you to do your jobs with unreliable equipment?’ _

Steve tried to turn on his Captain America persona, afraid of appearing harder to work with than Tony Stark, but he was never a very good actor. He was feeling put out and unhappy and out of sorts and he knew he looked it. Most of the employees didn’t make eye contact with him as he and Tony left.

When they made it to the front steps outside the building, Tony tossed Steve the keys to the rental car they’d driven to the station.

“I don’t want to ride back with you,” he said plainly, lifting up his shirt to put the Iron Man core back to his chest where the arc reactor used to be. “So you can drive home, and I–” he pressed the mechanism and the Iron Man suit started forming around him. “-will find my own way back.”

Steve looked at the keys, his face screwed up in consternation. “Tony, wait,” he tried.

“No,” Tony said instead, moving into a crouch for takeoff, “I don’t think I will.”

“There’s really nothing here?” Steve tried anyway, not one to back down.

Tony came out of his crouch, his faceplate coming up to give Steve an almost pitying look. “No, Steve. There’s nothing there. A) Because I don’t like you and B) because I’m aro as fuck.”

Steve growled in exasperation. “Come on, Stark, you’re being difficult on purpose. What does that even  _ mean _ ???”

Steve caught another of Tony’s eyerolls before the faceplate came back over his face.

“Bitch.” Tony said, and then took off.

  
  


Steve didn’t want to tell anyone about it. It was embarrassing and he still wasn’t entirely sure what had even happened.

But… he really didn’t know what the fuck had happened. He needed help.

He considered confiding in Bucky or Sam but Bucky was already going through his own thing and with Sam, sometimes it got to be a kind of echo chamber. Sam probably wouldn’t see the situation any differently than Steve did.

Natasha was an option but a) she was never as straightforward as Steve needed her to be and b) she would laugh at him. And tell everyone. For a super spy, she really was all too happy to tell Steve’s embarrassing secrets.

And, anyway, this was about Tony first and foremost. Steve hadn’t done anything wrong on his end – it was because Tony was ‘aro as fuck’, whatever that meant, that he’d rejected Steve. So Steve had to talk to someone who knew Tony and, therefore, knew what the fuck that meant.

Pepper was out. She and Tony had gone through some kind of split and were on a break or something. At least that’s what Tony had said. She’d probably know the most about what Tony had meant about being aro and how that related to not wanting to kiss Steve but he doubted she was willing to share. Also, she scared Steve, just a little.

Steve approached Colonel Rhodes at the compound. Rhodes was still working on walking, the electronic braces Tony had built helping him regain mobility, but Rhodes’s movements weren’t fluid yet. He was in the med bay, working in the PT room, when Steve found him. Steve tried not to feel like he was cornering him where he couldn’t get away.

He stood a few steps away from where Rhodes walked between the bars – hands not touching them, but hovering over in case he needed the help. There was no one spotting him which was lucky as Steve wasn’t sure he wanted an audience.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, affecting an air of casualness he didn’t feel, letting Rhodes walk toward him.

“You’re progressing really well,” Steve told him. “You should be proud.”

Rhodes rolled his eyes, taking a pause at the end of the walkway to hold onto the bars and take a breath. “I am proud. So I’m going to ignore how condescending that sounded.”

Steve held up a hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean–”

“I know you didn’t, Cap,” Rhodes interrupted, smiling. This was already going better than Steve had expected. “What’s up?”

Steve took a breath, recrossing his arms. They were most comfortable that way. “I’m worried about Tony.”

Rhodes immediately stood up straighter, his shoulders coming back to military position. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, he’s fine, I think.” Steve sighed leaning a little bit back onto his heels. “Do you know what aro is?”

Rhodes snorted, his shoulders slumping in relief. “Yeah, fucking Tony.” He chuckled before his head jerked back up, his eyes gone a bit wide. “Wait, did you make a move on him?”

Steve’s arms tightened, his own eyes widening slightly. He hadn’t expected Rhodes to make that leap. He cleared his throat, “Why would you think–”

“You  _ did _ .” Rhodes interrupted again. “You definitely did. Oh my God.” Rhodes face was spreading in a smile. “Oh my  _ God _ . This is amazing.”

Steve huffed a bit, refusing to get sidetracked. “What does aro mean? Why would Tony tell me that?”

“Well I’m assuming it’s so you would leave him alone when he told you he didn’t like you.” Rhodes said, laughing under his breath. “I’m guessing you were persistent?”

Steve flexed his shoulder, refusing to answer that. “So it was an excuse?”

“No, it’s true. Tony Stark is aro as  _ fuck _ .” Rhodes grinned. “But that’s not why he turned you down, whatever move you made. He just doesn’t like you.”

Steve grunted. Yes, Rhodes, he’d made that  _ very _ clear. “What does aro mean?”

Rhodes shrugged, moving backwards down the padded walkway He looked down at his feet to watch his legs move awkwardly under the different kind of mobility required. “It’s short for aromantic. You can google it.” He looked up at Steve then. “Do  _ not _ bother Tony about it. Leave him alone, Rogers.”

Steve sighed. “You can’t just tell me?”

Rhodes grinned at him. “Nah. You’re a smart guy – you figure it out.”

Going to Rhodes had been a mistake. Not only because he didn’t actually get any useful information out of it, but the Colonel had also told everyone that Steve had made a move on Tony.

And everyone had found that so hilarious.

Steve had hoped Colonel Rhodes would have a little more professionalism and respect but, no, he told Happy who told Peter who told  _ everyone _ , because that sticky teenager lived to, as he put, “roast America’s ass”.

Natasha kept moving boxes of tissues closer to Steve whenever Tony walked away from him. Vision had taken to playing “Careless Whisper” every time Steve entered a room. Bruce only ever looked at him now with a mix of pity and amusement which, when taken with the other things wasn’t so dramatic, but was definitely the most annoying.

He had googled ‘aromantic’ like Rhodes had suggested (Googling just ‘aro’ had done him no good previously as he’d been spelling it like ‘arrow’) but the results didn’t clear up too much. 

“ _ An aromantic person is someone who doesn't experience romantic attraction. There's no need for an aromantic to pair up with another person for romantic reasons.” _

But Tony had a whole slew of conquests in the past. He was famous for it. And he’d had a relationship with Pepper that was definitely more serious than the others – a romantic relationship! They had been a couple! Steve had followed the relationship from when he and Tony had met to when Tony had told them they were seperated in that conference room in Bucharest. Not that he had schemes on Tony, he was just interested in his friends.

But Tony had been in a romantic relationship and Google said that’s not what aro means. Had Tony been lying?

He thought about this every time he saw Tony walk in somewhere with Bruce tucked under his arm. He watched Tony kiss Bruce or Pepper on the cheek, heard him call people pet names like ‘dear’ or ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’. None of it was adding up.

It was during an Avengers Sponsored Social Charity Event – one of the efforts being made to regain the trust and faith of the public – that Steve all but convinced himself that aromanticism was fake and Tony had lied to him completely. He watched Tony slowly guide Pepper around a dance floor, a tasteful but sparkly ring on her left hand. They hadn’t officially told the rest of the team yet, but it was clear the couple were back together and now, somehow, engaged.

That is extremely romantic behavior. Marriage? Romantic.

Steve grit his teeth, his narrowed eyes locked on them as they made their way across the floor. His arms were folded so tightly it was unlikely they’d ever hang loose again.

A shorter figure slid up next to Steve, chewing sounds coming from his open mouth. “They’re cute, right?”

Steve glanced down at Peter, wearing his Spider-Man suit under his tuxedo in an effort to preserve his identity, but with his mask rolled up to expose his mouth so he could inhale the party’s hors d'oeuvres. He’d somehow procured an entire tray.

Steve just grunted in reply.

Peter popped another mini crabcake into his mouth and talked around it. Teenagers were gross.

“Yeah, Tony and Pepper make a good team. Very solid support system.” He popped another crabcake into his mouth despite not having yet swallowed the first. “She would never blame him for an international incident and then leave him to deal with the fallout in the press, including the revision of official security government documents, by himself.”

Steve glared down at the masked hero. Peter just licked grease off the fingers of his gloves. “You got something to say, kid?”

Peter shrugged, throwing a ball of crab up in the air to catch in his mouth. “I’m just saying,” he said around it. “No one who’s ever done any of those things should presume they’re entitled to any relationship with Mr. Stark. How messed up would that be? I mean could you imagine?”

Steve gaped, watching Peter dip a jumbo shrimp into some kind of white sauce. He wasn’t sure he could recall the kid ever being so disrespectful.

“You think I feel  _ entitled _ ?”, he asked, annoyed at how petulant he sounded.

Steve couldn’t see through the mask, but he could guess by the bottom half of Peter’s face he was raising an eyebrow. “Which answer gets you to stop glaring at Mr. Stark like that?”

“I wasn’t–” but Steve stopped himself, because he definitely had been.

Peter smirked. “Look, Captain,” Steve was a little gratified that Peter was respectful enough not to call him Rogers like Tony did. “This whole Edward Cullen, lurking in corners and glaring menacingly at the one you adore act isn’t working for anyone.” Steve didn’t know who Edward Cullen was but he wasn’t going to bring it up. Not when he’d told Tony he’d seen movies. “It’s better if you just leave him alone.”

Steve refrained from throwing up his hands but barely. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

That got a laugh out of Peter. “Have you thought that maybe if everyone agrees on something it’s probably a good idea?” Then Peter’s face pulled into a grimace. “Well… considering everyone that agreed on the Accords, I guess you wouldn't, huh?”

Steve scowled at Peter. The kid had an attitude problem – Tony couldn’t be a good influence on him.

“He still didn’t have to lie to me,” Steve grumbled.

“About what?” Peter asked, fishing a stray scallop out of the dip with his still-gloved pinky. He was going to have to wash the suit, that was so gross. 

Steve twisted his face, unsure if this was appropriate to bring up with a kid. He knew times were different and Peter probably knew more about all this than he did, but he still didn’t feel comfortable discussing the romantic life of someone the kid considered a parental figure.

“Just… something he told me,” Steve hedged. “When he, uh–”

“Totally rejected you?” Peter asked, innocently.

Steve grit his teeth. “Yes. That.”

Peter nodded, popping the scallop in his mouth and chewing. Then he stopped, actually swallowing before he spoke. “Wait, is this about him being aro?”

Steve grunted. Of course Tony’s protege knew about his romantic life. Why would Tony think it’s inappropriate to share something like that with a kid?

“Mr. Stark wouldn’t lie about something like that!” Peter’s voice was getting louder, spurred by a sudden outrage. “Why do you think he lied about that?”

Steve refused to answer. He would not bitch out a fifteen-year-old.

“Do you even know what it means? Mr. Rhodey told me you asked about it. You know how to Google, right?”

“ _ Yes, _ I know how to Google,” Steve snapped. “And it said there was no reason for people who were aromantic to pair up.” He gestured to Tony and Pepper, hands clasped and slowly spinning. He was trying to say  _ ‘They’re a couple! So ha!’ _ without actually saying it. It seemed a bit juvenile to say it aloud.

Even not saying it aloud must have seemed juvenile to Peter because he rubbed a hand down his face, bringing the mask back down over his mouth with it. “Oh my  _ God _ , you’re so old.”

“Hey,” Steve started but Peter held up a hand to cut him off.

“No, I know, you were stuck in the ice or whatever, and there’s been a lot to catch up on. I’m not mad, I’m just frustrated. But I’d rather it be me explaining this to you than you going to bother Mr. Stark about it.”

Steve still felt indignant – why did people believe he would bother Stark? – but it looked like he was finally getting an explanation so he valiantly kept his mouth shut.

Peter quietly flagged down a waiter and passed him the mostly empty tray, thanking him politely. He shook out his arms, turning back to Steve. “I don’t know why, I just felt like I needed my hands for this.”

Steve crossed his arms and waited.

Peter sighed. “So aromanticism is a lack of romantic attraction.”

Steve nodded. He knew that already.

“Which means Mr. Stark doesn’t get the mushy feelings or feel butterflies and all the good soft shit that comes with being in a relationship.”

Steve almost said ‘language’ but heroically resisted.

“ _ But _ ,” he said “Mr. Stark still has a lot of love in his heart and was critically under-hugged as a kid so he always makes sure to show his love like that. He’s… what did MJ call it…” Peter waved his hands around his head as if trying to catch the word he was looking for out of his brain. He snapped his fingers but it was muffled by the gloved of the suit. “Tactile!”

Steve nodded, remembering all the times Tony used to clap him on the shoulder or offer him snacks. Before, he’d used that as evidence for why he and Tony were headed somewhere romantic. But, if he’d really been paying attention, he’d have realized Tony did that for everyone.

“Full disclosure: I’m not aro and do not speak for all aros. Every aro is different, blah blah blah, disclaimer disclaimer.” Peter waved his hands, vaguely, making Steve glad he’d given the tray back. “You’re not going to find every aro is so free with cheek smooches.”

Steve nodded, his mind conjuring all those instances again of Tony pet-naming Rhodey or cheek-smooching Bruce. It put to mind something he’d read when he’d googled ‘aromantic’, but hadn’t really thought much about:

_ “Aromantics are capable of feeling love - platonic love such as that between a mother and child or best friends is still love.” _

Wording it like that made it seem so obvious to Steve: of course aromantic people could feel love. It was a basic human emotion! Anyone who couldn’t feel love was a sociopath and Steve didn’t think Tony was a sociopath.

And even beyond that, he knew Tony could love. He saw how he behaved with Rhodes and Happy – the kind of fatherly love he had for Peter. 

And Steve guessed Tony could feel platonic love for Pepper. They may be a couple – an  _ engaged _ couple – and Pepper could feel romantically about him, but Tony’s feelings could be totally platonic.

But– “Then why is he marrying her?” Steve asked, hoping he sounded more confused than whiney.

Peter shrugged, the eyes of his mask going a little scrunched as he smiled. “They make a good team,” he said, repeating his earlier sentiment. “They both wanted kids and they take care of each other.” He chuckled under his breath. “Also, I’m pretty sure Tony wants to make sure that Pepper is entitled to half his money.” He shrugged. “It makes sense.”

Steve nodded. He really was starting to feel better about this whole thing.

“I think I’m beginning to understand,” he mused. “Getting married to Pepper isn’t the same thing as making out with me in an elevator.”

Peter burst out laughing. “Oh my  _ God _ , is that what happened? You tried to make out with him in an elevator?” Peter cackled.

Steve crossed his arms tighter, narrowing his eyes. “Yes, but it’s fine. You just explained–”

“Captain Rogers – Steve – no. Mr. Stark still likes,” he choked a bit on the word, “sex and stuff. He’s aromantic, not asexual. He just doesn’t want to fuck  _ you _ .”

Now Steve was offended again. He spluttered a bit, trying to find words.

Peter was still laughing but he held up a hand to explain, “Well, some people are aromantic  _ and _ asexual, but Mr. Stark isn’t. If he liked you, he would have no problem making out with you. He just  _ really _ doesn’t like you.”

Steve threw up his hands, completely giving up.

He walked out of the ballroom, leaving Peter laughing behind him and Tony dancing, completely oblivious of everything Steve had just learned.

Tony was just out there existing however he goddamn pleased.

Whatever.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Green Day's "Platypus (I hate you)"
> 
> This was just cathartic for me, a Tony Stan, to write. Any negative opinions or comments about aromanticism put forth by Steve are not held by the author. 
> 
> Thanks to my aro consultant thespacedadfriend on Discord, and my lovely beta, [Tori](torimouto.tumblr.com), who I can always count on to bust my balls. 
> 
> [Rebloggable version](https://saywhatjessie.tumblr.com/post/188479499680/red-eye-code-blue)


End file.
